Sex and Sensibility: The Allure of Art Nouveau

British Cities 1 Season 2 Episode

London didn’t embrace the erotic curves of Art Nouveau quite as rapturously as Paris. But Oscar Wilde did, especially the drawings of daring young Aubrey Beardsley. Then Wilde was carted off to jail for “gross indecency”, leaving both their reputations in tatters and straitlaced Victorians with a deep mistrust for this continental smut masquerading as art. Stephen Smith examines the influence art nouveau had on British art and design in the early part of the 20th century. He explores the work of illustrator Aubrey Beardsley and architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh, as well as delving into the careers of less celebrated figures, including Mackintosh's wife Margaret MacDonald and artist and craftswoman Mary Watts. Smith also considers how entrepreneur Arthur Liberty helped popularise the art nouveau style through his London department store.